Flu, COVID and Pneumonia Vaccination Rates Decline Among Older Adults

New reports are concerning, as flu illnesses and deaths continue to rise this season

Rachel Nania,

Updated February 03, 2026

AARP

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Published January 27, 2026

/ Updated February 03, 2026

AARP (Getty Images)

Older adults face greater risks from COVID-19, flu and pneumonia, yet fewer are getting vaccinated against these potentially deadly respiratory diseases, according to two new health reports.

The percentage of adults age 65 and older who received a flu shot fell from around 71 percent in 2019 to 67 percent in 2024, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Similarly, the share of older adults who received the pneumonia vaccine dropped from 67 percent in 2019 to 65 percent in 2024, the same report shows .

Meanwhile, the University of Michigan’s National Poll on Healthy Aging finds that 42 percent of people over 50 never received the flu or COVID-19 vaccines in the past six months. Nearly 30 percent of survey respondents said they have received both vaccines, and 27 percent have received only the updated flu shot.

Both reports come as the number of COVID-19 infections is likely increasing in some states, and flu activity remains high across much of the U.S. The CDC estimates there have been 11,000 flu deaths and 270,000 hospitalizations so far this season. During the 2024–2025 flu season, as many as 130,000 deaths occurred, according to preliminary data from the CDC.

Despite risks, many don’t see need for shots

Older adults bear the brunt of serious health problems from severe flu, COVID and pneumonia, in part due to age-related changes in the immune system and other underlying health conditions that can complicate an infection. The CDC estimates that people 65 and older account for up to 70 percent of hospitalizations and as many as 85 percent of flu‑related deaths.

Pneumonia — a lung infection that can make it hard to breathe — is considered a leading cause of death for older adults. What’s more, the vast majority of COVID deaths since the start of the pandemic have occurred in adults 50 and older.

Routine vaccinations against COVID, flu and pneumonia can reduce the risk of illness from infection and significantly reduce the risk of serious illness.

Yet the National Poll on Healthy Aging found that the top reason adults over 50 gave for skipping the flu and COVID vaccines was that they didn’t think they needed them, with nearly 30 percent of people who didn’t get the shots giving this as their main reason.

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People who did not get vaccinated also cited concerns about vaccine side effects (19 percent for flu and 27 percent for COVID) and said they didn’t think the vaccines were effective (18 percent for flu and 19 percent for COVID).

“The evidence is clear: These viruses can lead to serious illness, hospitalization and death. That risk increases with age and underlying health conditions, and vaccination reduces that risk,” said Dr. Jeffrey Kullgren, the poll’s director and an associate professor of internal medicine at the U-M Medical School, in a statement.

He added: “These findings suggest that we must do a much better job helping people in their 50s and up understand that they will benefit from getting these updated vaccines each year, that the vaccine side effects are mild and short-lived, and that even if they later get infected and develop symptoms, vaccination means they won’t get as sick.”

The poll found that the oldest adults (ages 75 and older), who are at greatest risk of hospitalization and death from both viruses, had the highest vaccination rates for COVID and flu. People with chronic health conditions were also more likely to get both vaccines.

Declining vaccine rates could lead to more illness

The declining rates are not surprising, says Dr. Richard A. Martinello, an adult and pediatric infectious diseases clinician at the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, and they are being driven by a few factors.

One is pandemic fatigue: “We see fatigue near the tail end of pandemics. And you know, people are ready to be done with it; they don’t want to think about things like that anymore, so I think that leads to some of the disinterest,” he says.

Another “substantial issue” that Martinello says has been growing in recent years is “an enormous growth in mis- and disinformation,” amplified by social media. “And I think at best that leads to the population really receiving mixed messages,” he says.

A 2024 review in the medical journal BMJ, led by researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, highlights how vaccine misinformation on social media directly contributes to vaccine hesitancy. A 2025 report from the nonpartisan health policy nonprofit KFF found that many parents struggle to discern whether health-related information they see online is trustworthy.

Vaccine rates are declining in younger age groups, as well. The share of kindergarten children up to date on their vaccinations fell from roughly 95 percent in the 2019–2020 school year to about 92 percent in the 2024–2025 school year.

If vaccination trends continue to decline, we will see a greater frequency of vaccine-preventable illnesses, including flu, COVID and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), Martinello says. “And we know the elderly population is really vulnerable to each of these diseases,” he adds.

Skipping vaccines not only increases your chances of getting sick but also puts the people around you at risk, Martinello says. What’s more, it can affect health care costs in the U.S., which have been increasing in recent years, because treating people who become severely ill is much more expensive than giving them a vaccine to prevent the infection.

“Even if you are insured, if you end up getting sick and use your physician’s office, or if you need to be hospitalized, while you may be covered by your own insurance, those expenses then may impact the cost of insurance the following year, not for you as an individual but across the whole population of persons insured,” Martinello says.

Not too late for your shots

Martinello says if you haven’t had your flu shot yet, it’s not too late to get it — the same goes for the COVID vaccine and RSV, if you’re eligible.

“We know that influenza and COVID and RSV are going to continue to circulate heavily for at least two more months, if not three more months,” Martinello says. “As they say, the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, but the second-best time is today. And so if somebody hasn’t been vaccinated, absolutely, it’s a good time to go out and get vaccinated.”

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